Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday, “I hope that visa requirements between Turkey and Qatar would be lifted soon. We want to commence a new era in our relations with Qatar like we did earlier in our relations with Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Turkey’s gates are wide open for Qatari investors, tourists and businessmen.”
Speaking at the Turkey-Qatar Business Forum at Doha’s Four Seasons Hotel, Prime Minister Erdogan said, “Turkey is among the countries that were least-affected from the global financial crisis. Recently, our economy has begun giving signals of recovery from the crisis. As of the second half of 2009, shrinkage in our economy stopped. International organizations affirmed that Turkish economy would grow rapidly in 2010 and 2011. Our target is to make Turkish economy one of the world’s biggest economies in 2023.” Read the rest of this entry »
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay an official two-day visit to Qatar starting on Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir al Thani.
Erdogan is to attend the forum U.S.-Islamic World, which will take place in Doha on Saturday.
The Turkish prime minister is also scheduled to meet the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and participate in a Turkish-Qatari business forum.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, used his appearance in Abu Dhabi yesterday at the World Future Energy Summit to promote the ambitious project, which could supply gas to Europe through a Turkish hook-up with the proposed Nabucco pipeline.
Mr Erdogan said the Qatar-Turkey pipeline project was “important” for his country, and “will provide remarkable opportunities for Gulf countries”.
He also described last year’s signing of an inter-governmental agreement on the Nabucco pipeline as the year’s “most significant development” for Turkey’s energy strategy.
The transit agreement between five EU states and Turkey cleared the way for a final investment decision on the EU-backed project to reduce European dependence on Russian gas.
Several Central Asian and Middle East gas producers have recently expressed greater interest in supplying gas to Nabucco, although the project’s backers have yet to conclude any firm agreements.
Turkey has long sought to establish itself as a hub for energy flowing from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. The idea has gained traction with the EU in the past two years, as European concerns over energy security have intensified due to recurring spats that have threatened to disrupt westward flows of Russian oil and gas.
Troubled relations with Israel hit a new low when an Israeli protest against a Turkish television series crossed the boundaries of diplomatic civility and turned into an insult against Ambassador Oğuz Çelikkol, in a scene that appeared to be the design of hawkish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Turkish-Israeli relations have been strained since Israel’s deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip, which left about 1,400 Palestinians dead, including many civilians, and brought heavy international criticism upon Israel, including accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a United Nations investigation. Since the offensive, Turkish-Israeli bilateral relations have seen exchanges of harsh remarks between Israeli and Turkish officials and crisis incidents despite efforts to tone town the crisis atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »
Qatar’s prime minister yesterday sought the Turkish government’s support in organizing an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Hamid bin Casim Cabir el Thani, to talk about Middle East peace.
“We would like to organize an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza in the shortest period of time and we want Turkish support of this conference,” el Thani said, according to the private CNN-Türk television.
Turkish officials said the venue and date for such an international conference were not yet clear and only said, “Preparations are under way.” El Thani praised Turkey’s sensitivity toward peace in the region and the Gaza issue. For his part, Erdoğan said the government’s efforts for peace would continue. “We consider this conference to be held for the reconstruction of Gaza as very positive.” Foreign Minister Ali Babacan was also present during the meeting of the two prime ministers. Read the rest of this entry »
Israel’s President Shimon Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s assault on Gaza over the past month and, with a raised voice and pointed finger, questioned what Erdogan would do if rockets were fired at Istanbul every night.
As the debate, which also included United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Arab League chief Amr Moussa, was ending, Erdogan was cut short as he tried to respond.
“I don’t think I will come back to Davos because you don’t let me speak,” the Turkish prime minister said, as he stood up and walked out of the conference hall in the Swiss ski resort.
“The president spoke for only 25 minutes. I have only spoken for half of that.”
Turkey’s state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Erdogan as saying to Peres: “When it comes to killing you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you killed children on the beaches.”
In a hastily-called news conference, Erdogan later explained that he had been upset with both the moderation of the debate and Peres’ manner.
“My reaction was directed at the moderator. I think that if we have moderation in this way, we won’t really get out of Davos what we all come here to get out of Davos, and it would cast a shadow over efforts to reach peace,” Erdogan said.
“President Peres was speaking to the prime minister of Turkey — I am not just some leader of some group or tribe, so he should have addressed me accordingly,” he told reporters.
